The clever comeback reflects a new, more confrontational approach by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus under Chu’s guidance. The goal, according to leaders: to overcome the polite Asian stereotype and stop being ignored.

Chu’s efforts will get a big lift this week when President Barack Obama speaks at a gala celebrating Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month — the first time he’s attended a major event hosted by an Asian-American group since 2005.

But Obama’s appearance won’t immediately smooth things over with Asian-American leaders, who lament that he’s largely ignored their community since taking office in 2009 despite its exploding numbers. The Asian population grew at a faster clip during the past decade than any other minority group in the country.

“We were disappointed he is in his fourth year and hasn’t shown up at any of our events,” said Tom Hayashi, executive director of OCA, an Asian-American civil rights group formerly known as the Organization of Chinese Americans. “We are still seen as a fairly invisible segment of the population, and so we’re beyond being polite.”

“If he or his administration feels this is a check-mark moment, that would be a really sad thing,” he added. “We would like this to be the beginning of a new chapter of him being directly engaged with our community.”

As CAPAC chairwoman, Chu had personally invited the president during a White House meeting last September, sources said, and she leaned on Democratic leaders to help secure his commitment when it appeared he might not show.

And as other controversies flared up this year over a racially charged Pete Hoekstra political ad and remarks by former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry about “dirty” Asian stores, Chu spoke out in protest. She has also campaigned against military hazing, publicly confronting Pentagon officials after her nephew, Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, killed himself after fellow Marines berated and beat him when he fell asleep at his post.

Still, Chu isn’t a natural bomb thrower: She had to rehearse her Mayweather zinger before she went on TV to deliver it. Chu borrowed the “heavyweight” line from a blog she had read, tweaked it slightly, then repeated it until it was memorized.

“I did not come into this position to be a national spokesperson. I’ve never wanted to be Anthony Weiner,” Chu said of the former New York congressman who had been a fixture on cable TV. “But there is a void, and I feel I need to step into this position.”

The Asian population has skyrocketed the past 10 years to about 15 million, a nearly 50 percent increase. But because there are so few Asians serving in Congress — 12 out of 535 members — CAPAC counts among its members nearly 30 non-Asians, including former Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee and former Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, both California Democrats who are more comfortable and have more experience in front of a camera.

Even among CAPAC’s Asian members, few have made a name for themselves outside Congress or their home states. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), a Japanese-American who famously lost his right arm while fighting during World War II, is a legend in the Aloha State and wields enormous power as Appropriations Committee chairman. But at 87, he rarely grants media interviews and is a relic of a more collegial era in the Senate.

The same goes for Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), also 87, who’s retiring at the end of this year after 35 years in the House and Senate.

Former Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) made headlines but not the kind he wanted: He was involved in a series of bizarre incidents, which culminated in allegations he made sexual advances toward an 18-year-old daughter of a campaign donor, and resigned last summer.